QRX-9001 mod - is it necessary?

[qued]

Hello all. Brand new to quad, but just bought a Sansui QRX-9001 off eBay with hopes that soon I'll be able to recreate at home the swirling magic I remembered from way back in high school when I first heard "Frankenstein" on a buddy's Pioneer quad system. The QRX-9001 is just the first piece of the puzzle.
Before I bought though, I did spend hours of intensive web-study which pretty much convinced me that the QRX-9001 was the unit to get (thanks to QuadBob!) if you could find one, which amazingly I did right off the bat. I paid $400 (w/shipping) for it, which from what I can tell was a decent price. I also read quite a few testimonials from folks here that sing the praises of the QuadBob restore, which is certainly on my wish list. But frankly with my limited funds I'd rather put my money into setting up the rest of my quad system instead of sinking any more money into the QRX-9001. What I'd like to know is how many here are using a 9001 without any mods, and are you happy with it as is? Thanks.

 

[JonUrban]

If the 9001 was not stored in a basement or garage for the last few years, it should be alright. It of course will not be as good as it would be if it were restored, but there is a very large lead time for QB's restorations, so you need to factor that in along with the cash.

There are many folks here who can give you tips and suggestions of things that you can do yourself to insure your receiver is in good shape. They'll chime in from time to time.

Nice catch! And welcome to QQ.

 

[qued]

Thanks Jon - I'm looking forward to all that I can glean from here. One thing, as I ran into references to QuadBob's QRX-9001 restorations the one thing I never saw mentioned was how much it's gonna set me back. Is this secret information? Also, how long should I figure I'll be without the unit? 30 days or 6 months? Maybe I should have this work done while I'm acquiring the rest of my quad setup.

 

[quadanasaziland]

Hi, congrats on the 9001! That's a great price!

Have you plugged it in and checked it with some headphones yet?
If it doesn't have pass thru solder joint problems then it will be a wonder! You have probably dug around here and found that out already.

An unmoded type III, variomatrix board will give you 35 dbs of seperation front to front, front to back, back to back and front to back diagonaly, pretty darn good but it could be better! This equals pure magic when synthing quad from stereo sources. Once a QB mod is done then you have 50 dbs of said seperation, WOW! That is nearly descret to your brain. Bob also does other modifcation such as the cd4 board (Holly Grail) and things that only the owner of a mod gets to know about. Plus you can get the lights now in several different colours now. Jezzzz I sound like a comercial.

Sansui gave us something special in the Variomatrix type III board and still has not been matched to this day! Yes it costs some $ and takes some time but it is worth it! email Bob for a quote.

 

[dr8track]

Thanks Jon - I'm looking forward to all that I can glean from here. One thing, as I ran into references to QuadBob's QRX-9001 restorations the one thing I never saw mentioned was how much it's gonna set me back. Is this secret information? Also, how long should I figure I'll be without the unit? 30 days or 6 months? Maybe I should have this work done while I'm acquiring the rest of my quad setup.

The typical problem with 9001's is that it is difficult to find one that is actually still firing on all four cylinders. A restoration will be significantly more expensive than the price you paid for your 9001. I sent my 9001 to Bob a few years back, but have not been anxious to get it back because I still have a functioning quad receiver that I've had since the 70's. If my 9001 had been functioning when I purchased it I would have used it w/o restoring until I had problems. I told Bob just to hang onto it until my old receiver finally died and I needed a new receiver. You should probably get the pricing info directly from Bob. Same on the amount of time it will take. Obviously, it will not take as long as mine is taking if it is a priority for you to get it back. However, Bob is busy and in great demand with this older vintage gear, so I'm certain even if you get on the short list will may take awhile.